Cool News

From left to right - Freestyle motocross riders Jeff Tilton, Nate Adams and Tommy Clowers with Miss Supercross 2008.

In preparation for the upcoming racing season, AmSnow recently attended the 2009 Yamaha Race Team Media day at Yamaha Motor's headquarters in Cypress, Calif. This was a day to rub shoulders with some of the greatest motorsport racers in the world.  

Us snowmobile folks were certainly most excited about the upcoming snocross season and are excited to see how Yamaha factory snocross racers Iain Hayden and Steve Taylor will perform on their new Nytros. However, at this event we realized that often we fail to remember snowmobiles are just one small segment of Yamaha's overall racing mission. There are dozens of other race teams supported by Yamaha from ATVs, to motocross bikes, to supercross bikes, to road bikes and more. At the Race Team Media day, we were able to rub shoulders with people from all kinds of motorsport disciplines. We hung out with the likes of AMA Motocross Champion James Stewart, AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies, legendary racer Doug Henry and freestyle extraordaires Tommy Clowers, Nate Adams and Jeff Tilton. These are just a sampling of the introductions we were privy to at this day of fun in the sun.

AmSnow Senior Editor Mark Boncher talks with Yamaha's Doug Henry and Ben Spies.

Mark Boncher and James Stewart take part in a dyno run of the new Yamaha R-1.

The good folks at Yamaha also had a reaction time test set up on the asphalt using a converted Nytro sled. This was open to everyone and we took our shots vying for bragging rights of who had the fastest trigger-thumb. There were also tests to prove your bike balancing skills, wrenching skills and more. You could even have your photo taken with Miss Supercross 2009 on a race-prepped Nytro! Sweet. 

Reaction speed tests were carried out with the help of a Nytro converted to run on the asphalt.

The most intriguing part of the event was the tour of Yamaha's headquarters. For anyone interested in motorsports this was a treat as we got to help with a dyno session of a new R-1 bike, see numerous "education labs" where all the latest tools of the trade are taught to Yamaha mechanics and we got to see where the race teams work on their machines.  

Finally, we learned that Yamaha's new race Nytro is ready for action in next week's national ISOC snocross kick-off in Duluth, Minn. Taylor and Hayden have been practicing diligently on the machine and things are all dialed in. So get ready because this year all four manufacturers will be at Duluth ready to take home the checkered flag!